Grado Modders Go Ypsilon (Elleven Acoustica drivers and builds thread)

[i-am-iron-man]

Hi all,

Those of you may remember a few pages back where I went on holiday but couldn't sleep one night because I was so jealous of @Konstantin690 's beautiful Audeze-based Ypsilon build. I went home, gutted a pair of broken Denon AH-D5000, 'liberated' the ruined drivers and bonded in short lengths of aluminium tubing so I could fit my own Ypsilon drivers.

I subsequently saw a couple of things that continued to stoke my jealousy of other people's things:

• This photo of a pair of Sony MDR-R10 headphones, which got me thinking they're using similar principles to the Denon/Fostex design I've been listening to (here: http://zvukomaniya.ru/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Sony-MDR-R10-динамики.jpg)
• Inner Fidelity's reviews of the ZMF Eikon and Atticus. These include photos of the inside of the headphones, which got me thinking: maybe I could build something like that ...(here: https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/zmf-eikon-sealed-around-ear-headphones)

Either way, I've attached a photo of the outcome: I'm replacing the plastic / aluminium rings with wooden ones made out of oak. There's still a way to go before I get to hear the result - I have finished them with shellac, but still have to fit filter paper on the backs and there's some sanding required to get the drivers to fit. The outer cups are Lawtons made from bubinga. The donor headphone is (sadly) an immaculate pair of Denon AH-D2000 - they were boxed and everything, so it felt like rather poor form scuttling these. That said, the drivers are now installed in the original D5000 (I've got the D5k listed on eBay but they keep finding their way onto my head...) and the headband / gimbals for my mod build look great.

At the moment I am thinking, continue with what I have or do go for a fully aspirational build and replace the S2 drivers with a pair of R1. I'd be interested in anyone's thoughts who owns both sets of drivers...

In other news, I finally finished my G2 build last night. They are ok. I'll post a picture in a bit.

 

[i-am-iron-man]

Hi all, just a quickie: I couldn't wait and I had some spare time. I used the S driver and felt rather than paper. The headphones are on my head as I type. They are magnificent.

 

[Flipjack]

How do I search in photobucket? and what am I going to search for?

I didn't see that my image was blocked by Photobucket, because I don't have a paid plan, so I apparently can't share images. My bad! Will stop using that service.
Hope I can find an image elsewhere, it seems that Photobucket replaced the original image with this speedometer.

 

[DavidA]

I didn't see that my image was blocked by photobucket, because I don't have a paid plan, so I apparently can't share images. My bad!

No problem, I just figured it was this new interface for the site but if you ever do get a chance to show what they look like I'd appreciate it since most of the images in the MS1000 thread are blanked out also.

 

[BrianKT]

Just finished lunch with the owner/partner of a new source of headphone DIY (in my case Grado) modding products, "spinaf.com" . I heartily recommend you visit the site if you're in need of some cups. Jeff was very enthusiastic, very fun to talk with and about modding and they do gorgeous work. I bought a pair of Cocobolo and also a pair of Maple cups, that I don't have pictures of, but that you can see on their site. As I said, beautifully done and these guys seem really excited about the startup and are willing to help work through the process any way they can. Give 'em a look.

 

[capnjack]

Interesting, they are doing some really nice stuff.

 

[DavidA]

@BrianKT , nice find, hope the company does well so we have more choices and the cups look really nice in the pictures.

 

[BrianKT]

@BrianKT , nice find, hope the company does well so we have more choices and the cups look really nice in the pictures.

Really happy to have found them initially, but after talking to Jeff in person, even more so! He's got some really interesting ideas and the fact that they're less than 10 minutes away doesn't hurt at all. Glad to have been able to give them my business and I'll most certainly be going back.

 

[Flipjack]

No problem, I just figured it was this new interface for the site but if you ever do get a chance to show what they look like I'd appreciate it since most of the images in the MS1000 thread are blanked out also.

Found it:

 

[DavidA]

@Flipjack, Which part is the actual extension: the wood or the grey metal? And do they only fit metal outer cups?

 

[Flipjack]

@DavidA Only the wood part is added. The grey aluminum was provided by Symphones and is where the driver sits (held in place bij those black screws), and it's where you'd normally put your pads. With the distancer attached, you place the (G-)pad around the distancer, so the drivers is further away from your ear. I hope you see what I try to illustrate. This balances out the sound: tames the highs, layers the bass, fills in the mids that are drowned out with the G-pads.

Distancers fit any grado. I also had the Alessandro MS-Pro with them, but preferred the Magnums by a large margin. You can see the distancers if you look closely (these were lined with red-colored felt).

 

[DavidA]

@Flipjack , thanks for the explaining it, the pictures is worth a thousand word

 

[WoodyLuvr]

Hi all, just a quickie: I couldn't wait and I had some spare time. I used the S driver and felt rather than paper. The headphones are on my head as I type. They are magnificent.

More pics please

 

[wormsdriver]

Hey guys, just a head's up I'll be selling my Gradeze cans soon. Let me know if your interested! ☺

 

[sling5s]

edited